St. James star EJ Card’s career comes to emotional end

E.J. Card walks off the court with father an assistant coach Ed Card after Trojans' loss in 4A South Regional in Dothan(Photo: Ehtan Benral)

DOTHAN St. James guard E.J. Card slowly walked off the court, wiping the tears from his eyes with his jersey.

His dad, assistant coach Ed Card, put his arm over his shoulder and walked with him. It’s the last time the two will be able to do that as player and coach.

It was hard for coach Nigel Card, E.J.’s uncle, to hide his emotions after the game, as St. James fell to Monroe County 61-56 in the Class 4A South Regional semifinals on Monday.

“My brother and I were both very emotional about not being able to be impactful and see him every day, and coach him and love on him. It’s a difficult time for us,” Nigel Card said. “I was excited for him to put up that kind of display, the way he played in his last game, he showed who he really is in terms of a basketball player, and how passionate he is when it comes to the game. I was just proud of that effort, proud of my whole team. My whole team, they all put forth that effort to win the game today, the length of and ability to rebound the ball cost us. Their size was the difference in the game.”

The loss overshadowed a splendid performance by Card, who scored 29 points with an array of acrobatic layups and timely 3-pointers. He carried St. James offensively, scoring 52 percent of the team’s points.

“It was outstanding. He was a guy on a mission today,” Card said. “He wanted to continue to extend his high school career. He was being very supported by his teammates. He did everything on both ends – defensively and offensively – to put us in position to win the game. He’s a really good player. A little young still, but has the ability to make those plays all the time. That’s who he is.”

He helped the Trojans (16-11) back from a double-digit deficit late in the first half, and helped cut it to a one-possession game midway through the fourth quarter. Monroe County’s ability to control the offensive boards and free throws down the stretch kept St. James out of reach.

“They made some shots that we didn’t think that they would make, and we didn’t rebound the basketball like we really prepared to do,” Card said. “We knew their size was going to be a factor. So they made shots and also got extra shots. And then we created some fouls when would drive, we didn’t really squeeze them and make them kick it out. They got to the basket, so they built a nice cushion. I was OK with that, I still thought we had an opportunity to fight back and get back into the game, and I thought we did that.”